Animated Girl Suite
by Azalea542
Summary: A continuation to Carry On & Questions. Faye finds her relationship with Jet changing.
1. Chapter 1

ANIMATED GIRL SUITE: A COWBOY BEBOP FANFIC

PART ONE: ANASTASIA POP

_When they hear I was a cold sleep case, everyone compares me to Sleeping Beauty. I saw that film. The fairies put everyone in her kingdom asleep, too. She woke up to find her home and friends and family still there. Whereas I was thrust into a strange new world, with princes who were just illusions. Companions I couldn't trust. And my kingdom was in ruins._

_Nonetheless, I guess my life is a bit like those animated classics—just that it isn't all G-rated._

_See if you remember this film. I don't think it was a Disney film, but it was a lot like one. Jet, Spike, and I watched it, while Edward bounced around the room, somehow already knowing all the words to all the songs. Anyway, it was about a girl who was a princess and didn't know it. Because she lost her memory, like me. And like that girl, I was looking for love, family, a place of belonging. Hell, she even talked like me: "Men are such babies!" _

_This brash young kid like Spike and his friend, a big teddy bear of a man, like Jet, were going to use her to pose as the long lost princess, not knowing she really was **the** princess. Well, the girl ends up remembering, and the kid repents of his con artist ways. But by this time, the girl doesn't want to be a princess anymore. She's fallen in love with the kid, and only wants to be with him_

_It sounds like me, doesn't it? I finally realized my place was with that brash young kid, only in my case, just as I decide that, he ups and dies over some other princess he loved more than me._

_So where is my place now? With the older "teddy bear" man? Man, that would have made for a weird ending to the film._

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Jet woke up one morning, running his feet along something soft and warm. As awareness dawned, he suddenly realized he had no idea what his feet were nudging. Was it his new dog, Spike Junior? But SJ had his fenced-off cabin, and besides, whatever his toe was touching didn't feel furryHe sat up. Curled up in a fetal position at the edge of his bed was Faye.

Warily, he poked her. "Mumph," she muttered, then went back to sleep. Jet poked harder. "Mm. Oh, hi, Jet!" She swung out of bed. "I got lonely last night. See you at breakfast." And without another word of explanation, she exited the room.

This so puzzled Jet that he remained frozen in thought a few minutes. Finally he muttered to himself, "There are worse things that could happen to a guy than waking up to find a beautiful woman in his bed."

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Dick White sat at his computer, typing rapidly in his cluttered studio apartment. On the window sill sat a cage holding a disinterested, immature iguana.

"Ha ha, Iggy, with this virus, anyone trying to download my 'free porn' will get their hard drive wiped out—but not before I get their friends' e-mail addresses!"

Iggy remained unimpressed.

Suddenly, the door was kicked open by a shapely leg. Faye Valentine leveled a pistol at him, and Jet Black stood behind her. "Richard White, you are wanted for computer hacking and virus spreading," Faye announced, as though reading him his rights.

"Yiii--!" Dick squealed.

"Just come along with us and you won't get hurt," Jet advised.

"Can't I get someone to feed my iguana while I'm gone?"

Faye fired a bullet that grazed his upper arm.

"Aahhh! I'm bleeding! Okay, okay!" Trembling, Dick stood. Walking past Faye, he stumbled. With his metallic knuckles, Jet struck his nose.

Dick fell to the floor, feeling his nose. "Ack! More blood! More blood!" He passed out.

For a moment, Faye and Jet stared at his crumpled body, oozing blood in two large puddles.

Finally, Faye spoke softly. "He was going to cooperate, wasn't he?"

"Yeah," Jet said simply.

Faye let out a breath. "We've really crossed the line this time. We're scum." She put her gun away, and ripped a sheet off the hacker's bed, trying to tear a strip off of it, but the material was difficult. She handed it to Jet. "Just give me something to bind his wound with."

"Okay."

After Jet handed her the strips, she wrapped them around Dick's arm. "Jet, are we gonna be like this forever?"

Jet shook his head. "Nah. We're just burned out, that's all. We need a break."

"A vacation?"

"Yeah."

"Can we afford it?"

Jet knelt down by Faye and Dick as the latter began to moan. "From where I see it, we can't afford not to."

"You guys are vicious," Dick mumbled.

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When Spike had died, Faye had taken to sleeping on his bed, it consoling her somehow. But now, that wasn't enough, so she found herself sneaking her way into Jet's cabin. She wasn't sure what she wanted, she only knew listening to him breathe in and out calmed her. _I just…I just need some companionship, that's all, _she reasoned.

Tonight, she was more modest, and instead of sleeping at the edge of his bed, she positioned herself on the floor instead. She tossed and turned on the cold floor. When she finally got into the stage of semi-consciousness, she was awakened by Jet shouting out, "Vegas!"

She leaped. Jet was sitting up in his bed. "Vegas?" Faye asked.

"Vegas-on-Venus. It's where we should go. It was all in my dream."

"Your dream?"

"Yeah. The greats from twentieth century Earth were there, in the ultimate session. There was Charlie Parker on alto sax, Thelonius Monk on piano, Dizzy Gillespie on trumpet. On vocals was the divine Ella Fitzgerald."

"Whoever. Don't know them from Adam."

"And Spike was there, playing the worst sax ever. And Julia."

"And they told you to go to Vegas?"

Jet nodded. "They said we should both go."

"Are we gonna win money?"

Jet nodded again. "Yep."

"I thought you'd given up gambling."

"Faye, this was more than a dream. It was a vision."

"If you say so."

"And Faye—"

"What?"

"Don't sleep on the floor. At least get a futon from the storage closet. You'll throw your back or shoulder out."

Faye sighed. "Oh, all right. I'm going back to my cabin."

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The _Bebop_ had set its course on Vegas-on-Venus. Faye and Jet were sitting in the control room, watching the land draw closer.

"Why did we act that way?" Faye wondered, referring to their injuring the hacker. "It's got to be more than Spike. I mean, that psychic told us he was okay."

"It's because everything came together just before falling apart," Jet explained enigmatically. "That's the biggest tragedy."

"What do you mean? What came together?"

"After months of living together like strangers, we were finally beginning to work as a team and develop a sense of camaraderie—like the way we all did our part to stop Vincent Volaju. You may have been out of it, but the rest of us really pulled together to stop that Scratch cult and rescue you. Then Ed and Ein deserted, and we thought you did, too."

"I was just…" She searched for a word. "..Distracted. I didn't intend to be gone forever."

"Then Spike gets terminally obsessed with avenging his past. Everything just fell apart."

Faye rested her chin in her hands. "Yeah, I was forgetting about Ed and Ein. Ed was always cheerful no matter what was going on," she said, as though eulogizing the girl. "Maybe too cheerful. And Ein, he was cute. He just wanted what every dog does—to love and be loved. I probably should've paid more attention to him."

"Don't you worry—where we're going will make you forget everything. All those neon lights will show you the world isn't such a dark place after all."

"Aack! What the hell was that?" Faye cried, as if on cue, a bright light flashed through the viewscreen. "Damn light nearly blinded me!"

"That's the spotlight atop the pyramid of the Karnak resort," Jet informed her cheerily. "They say you can see it from outer space."

"And what would the point of that be?" Faye wondered crankily.

Jet shrugged. "I guess they just wanna make it into the _Guinness Book of Solar System Records_."

Faye dared to look back out. There were lights, festooning every building. Bright and flashing. In every color imaginable. It was like a neighborhood decorated at Christmas, and then some. She began to feel good. Life was continuing.

"Have you been to Vegas-on-Venus before?" Jet questioned.

"No. You?"

"I was there a few years ago, before they refurbished the Strip. It was rundown and seedy then. Look at it now. Suddenly it feels like some place new. I hear it's just the thing to make you forget all your troubles."

"_If_ you don't end up deeply in debt." She turned away from the aerial view of mega-resorts. "We all met at a casino," she recalled, then frowned. She made no noise, but Jet could read her lips sadly mouthing the name "Spike".

"When have you ever let being deeply in debt stop you before?" Jet asked jovially, to distract her from thoughts of Spike.

She smiled sadly.

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She was wearing a black gown and had her hair up. He was wearing his white suit, shades, and Panama hat. "My, you look very dashing and debonair," she said, and she meant it.

He tilted his hat and smiled at her. Then he offered her his arm, and they strode into town in style.

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They walked up the steps to the Monaco. Outside were four giant alabaster statues of classical-looking people. Faye eyed one of a nude god. "Mmm, nice décor."

"Stop ogling the statues," Jet said impatiently, grabbing her arm. "Let's try their casino."

Faye looked across the street and gasped. In front of a hotel was a merlion fountain, just like the one from her homeland. "What's that place?"

"That's the Singapore," a stranger said. "Its theme is Singapore, as you might guess, and Malaysia, and Indonesia."

"Oh, Jet, let's go over there instead!" Faye pleaded.

_You let Faye pick the casino._ Jet recalled Spike's advice. "Okay, it's your choice." He and Faye joined the crowd at the crosswalk. And he remembered Ella's advice: that even a lady who'd been bad could be good.

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Faye and Jet were making their way through the maze of slot machines and gaming tables when they saw it. An oversized slot machine, with cherries and lucky sevens as big as a man. Hitting the jackpot could take care of you for life.

A uniformed man stood by the contraption. With a hand regally gesturing towards the slots, he asked, "Care to try?"

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"I'm glad you wanted to come over here," Jet remarked chipperly, as he left the cashier's booth, many woolongs in hand. They hadn't won the biggest amount, but had been thrilled with what they got. Not enough to erase Faye's debt, but enough to have some fun and stock up the _Bebop_ as well.

"Hey, Jet, let's try that table over there," Faye suggested.

"Haven't you ever heard of quitting while your ahead?"

"Yeah, I've _heard _of it. So, then, what are you going to do with all that money?" Faye wondered, smiling and taking his arm again.

"Every decent hotel on the Strip has a shopping mall," Jet reasoned. "Let's go check it out."

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The Singapore's shopping arcade was called the Singapore Sling and featured boutiques and other upscale stores. Jet and Faye walked into the jewelry store. Jet handed Faye a stack of woolongs. "Here, go pick out something pretty. In this store, not out on the floor."

Faye stared at him, open-mouthed. "Really?"

He nodded.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" She kissed him on the cheek, and then hurriedly turned to examine the rings beneath the glass container.

"Is there something I can show you?" a pleasant middle-aged woman asked. She was ever so slightly plump, and wore her gray-streaked brunette hair in a bun. Her name tag read "Maybelle".

"Can I see that gold one with all the little stones?" Faye asked, pointing. Jet came over to see.

"Oh, is this for an engagement ring?" Maybelle asked.

The two looked embarrassed. "No," Faye said.

"Oh, you're already married."

Faye blushed. "No. This is..just because."

"Oh, that's the best kind. Just because." Maybelle got the ring out of the case.

Faye tried to slip it on. "Aw, nuts!"

"That's okay, dear," Maybelle said. "It can be resized."

"Mrs. Valentine!" a youthful voice called out.

Faye whirled around. "Hunh?"

A lanky kid dressed in a drab brown uniform walked up to the counter. He handed two packages to Maybelle. "I need you to sign for these."

"Okay, Freddy." Maybelle signed for the mail, and Freddy was soon on his way.

"_Your_ last name is Valentine?" Faye asked.

Maybelle nodded.

"That's my name! I'm Faye Valentine."

"Well, how do you do, Miss Valentine? We're probably related."

Faye sensed that she would be disappointed, especially as that doctor of hers had told her he made up her last name. "Probably not."

"We all go back to Adam and Eve, you know. Now about that ring—are you staying at this hotel?"

"We're staying in our starship, actually."

"Well, no matter. As long as you can come back, we can have that ring resized for you."

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In the middle of the night, back on the _Bebop_, Jet was awoken by the sound of words. It was Faye, muttering to herself. She obviously had crept into his cabin again, and now she was sleeping right beside him!

Jet's first impulse was to kick her out, but he stopped to listen in on her ramblings. "No..it's not fair. You took away my life, my family..then you take Spike, too." Was she talking to God? "I have nothing..nothing."

She could go on all night like this. Jet wondered how to stop her. Without waking her. Timidly, he patted her head, and with his fingers, brushed back her hair. She made some kind of contented moan, repositioned herself, and settled down. Now she was nestled right against his body. He had nowhere to put his natural arm except around her back.

Jet sighed, recalling how Spike had told him a rather mishmash version of Faye's early days since coming out of cold sleep. Jet knew Spike's version had been slanted against Faye, so Jet asked Faye to tell him the story herself. At first, she clammed up, so Jet began repeating Spike's version, and an angry Faye just had to set the record straight. So Jet heard how she was once innocent and trusting, driven to a more ferocious and jaded nature by unscrupulous men who took advantage of her. Jet got the story, and when Spike came in, he got a sharp kick in the shin from Faye.

Jet knew what Spike hadn't ever seemed to realize, that there is a story behind people's bad traits, and most often, they weren't always like that. Perhaps he had learned this as a child, watching an early twenty-first century version of_ A Christmas Carol_. At first, he had thought Ebenezer Scrooge was just mean, but then he saw his past, and how he had come to be that way, and he had sympathy for the old man. He understood. He had forgotten, at first, to look through Faye's selfishness that way, but her running away to Callisto drove in the fact that she was essentially a lost child. It was why he had been so intent on playing back the beta tape that provided a glimpse of her childhood.

Behind her layer of sassiness was a layer of sweetness. Behind her worldliness, a faded innocence. Behind her tough façade, a vulnerability. He had known it for awhile, even before the video or the capture of Whitney, the original man who had done her wrong.

He caressed her back lightly, and drew her in closer. She remained asleep, but made that little moaning sound of hers again. Jet closed his eyes, thinking _It's gonna be a long night._ Then, without realizing it, he instantly fell asleep himself.

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He woke up feeling more refreshed then he had in a long time. Actually, it had been nice having Faye beside him. A guy could get used to that.

He let Faye continue to sleep, and got up to make breakfast and feed the dog. He also checked the computer to see if any messages had come in.

"I'm not gonna wear the gown when we go back out," Faye decided after showering and changing back into her usual garb. "Everyone else was in tee shirts and shorts. You can still wear the suit if you want to."

"We got an e-mail you'll want to see," Jet informed her.

"From who?" Faye asked, scratching her head in puzzlement.

Jet jerked his thumb toward the computer. "Check it out."

"This better not be another past due statement." Faye looked at the screen. It said, "Dear Faye-Faye and Jet," then contained row upon row of frowning faces. Faye scrolled down, thinking the emoticons would never end, when mid-line they stopped, and words replaced them. "Edward and Ein are very sad to hear Spike is kaput. Things not working out either between father person and Françoise. Will you come back?"

"Who's Françoise?" Faye wondered aloud.

"Oh, that's just another name for Edward," Jet said.

"So she's got a split personality now?"

"I dunno."

"Wouldn't be harder to handle than any of her other eccentricities, I suppose. So, are we going to go pick her up?"

"I was leaving that up to you."

"Well…maybe after vacation. Yeah. Let's go for it. We're not far from Earth anyway. But won't her father mind?"

Jet remembered the perpetually distracted Appeldelhi. "He probably won't even notice."

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"There!" Maybelle said with satisfaction. "That ring fits perfect now."

"Looks good," Faye agreed, admiring the glittering, little diamonds. "And I have you to thank." She reached up and gave Jet a peck on the cheek.

"Well, for a boyfriend, he's certainly on the ball," Mrs. Valentine remarked.

"I'm not—" Jet began.

"Oh, he's not—" Faye said simultaneously.

Maybelle smirked. "Okay, what is he? Your agent?"

"I'm not a model. Or actress. We are business partners of sorts, though."

"We're friends," Jet explained.

Maybelle looked unconvinced. "Tell me more about your branch of the Valentine clan, Faye."

"There's not much to tell anymore. That's not even my real name. We lived in Singapore."

"Our family comes from the United States," Maybelle said.

Faye looked disappointed. "Oh, then you're probably—"

"Nonsense! Like I said, if you have to go all the way back to Adam, we're related somehow."

Faye smiled wistfully.

"What are you doing for dinner?" Maybelle asked.

"We were thinking of trying the Italian restaurant at the Monaco," Faye answered.

"Why not come to our house? I'll call Don and tell him to whip up some pot roast."

"Well…" Faye began hesitantly, glancing at Jet. She wasn't accustomed to such overt hospitality. Don't trust strangers. But then again, even if Maybelle and her husband turned out to be criminals, it was nothing Faye and Jet couldn't handle. "Okay."

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The combination dining/living room of the Valentine house was filled with wood furniture, green carpeting, and photos of the kids at various ages. A painting of Jesus holding up a pathetic wretch of a twentieth century man hung on one wall. A basset hound snoozed in a cozy basket, and forced himself to get up when Maybelle walked in with her guests. He lumbered over. "This is Caleb. Don, I'm home!" She went in another room to fetch him.

Jet and Faye looked around warily. "Do you think it's safe?" Faye whispered.

"We'll wait and see."

Don, who had some straggly hair left, walked in. He was wearing a red and black flannel shirt. He seemed a bit taken aback by the sight of Jet and his metal plate, and Faye in her skimpy outfit, but he quickly recovered. "Well, howdy, folks! You'll ready to see Vegas?"

"I thought we were having pot roast," Faye pointed out.

"Some other time, dear," Maybelle responded. "Let's hit the town."


	2. Chapter 2

The only transportation the Valentines had was a beat-up pickup truck. Maybelle drove and Faye sat in the passenger seat, while Jet and Don sat in the open-air bed.

"Don't you love these bright lights?" Maybelle asked Faye, while in back Don engaged Jet in a separate conversation.

"Yeah. I need something bright in my life for a change."

"Life been a bumpy road lately?"

"Yeah. I fell in love."

"He left you?"

"He left and he died. Dumbass jerk got himself killed—Pardon my language."

"That's alright."

"You just seem like the type to not use profanity."

"Well, I try. But I'm used to other people using it. Technically, I'm not supposed to even approve of this town. 'Sin City', you know. But Don and I love it! I think things like gambling and drinking are just fine in moderation."

"And sex?"

"All you want, within marriage."

"Topless revues?"

"Don and I go to the 'covered' shows only."

"What about smoking?"

"Well, that's like profanity. We avoid it, but we don't nag our friends who do it."

"Then do you mind if I light up?"

Maybelle tilted her head as though making a concession. "Go ahead, dear."

Faye rolled down the window. "I'll try to make sure all the smoke goes outside."

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In back, curious Don asked Jet, "What exactly is it you do for a living?"

"We're bounty hunters."

"Really? That sounds interesting."

"It's like war. There's intermittent moments of excitement and sheer terror punctuated by long periods of boredom."

"I don't suppose I could be a bounty hunter. I'm licensed to carry a gun—I'm a card-carrying member of the SSRA. I know how to use it." He took a pearl-handled pistol out. "She's a beauty, huh?"

"Yeah. A classic. But look, I don't really recommend my lifestyle to anybody else. What do you do?"

Don put the pistol away. "I'm a postal worker."

Jet grinned. "Well, you're halfway there."

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Faye's eyes focused on a series of buildings with vaguely familiar shapes. A roller coaster track weaved its way in and out of and around them. "Wow! That is really cool!"

"That's Mile High City. The buildings are smaller versions of some of Old Earth's most famous skyscrapers—the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower..The Seattle Space Needle has a revolving restaurant up top." She put on her signal to turn into the parking garage.

"We're not going on that coaster, are we?" Faye asked nervously.

"I was planning on it. Why, are you afraid of roller coasters?"

"I've faced death more times than I like to admit."

"But are you scared of roller coasters?"

"A roller coaster is a controlled, safe environment."

"But are you--?"

"Yes!..A little."

"Well, you don't have to go on if you don't really want to."

"Oh, I'll go."_ I can't let a couple of docile suburban Christians prove themselves bigger daredevils than a wild child like me, now can I?_

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As the roller coaster plummeted into a tunnel, which Faye swore went right through someone's hotel room, she gripped the safety bar tightly with one hand. Her other hand..she glanced over at Jet. Her fingers were digging into his flesh arm. He shot her as smile as the trench leveled out temporarily. Faye chuckled nervously, and removed her hand. Then all was forgotten—for the moment—as the track began to climb again.

The foursome laughed as they walked back to the truck. "Forget that restaurant at the Illusion," Don said to Maybelle. "We've got to go to 20th Century Pop Café. Jet here is a big fan of twentieth century music."

So that's where they went for supper. While Don and Jet walked around the interior, looking at priceless artifacts, Maybelle prodded Faye for more information. "What happened to that guy you fell in love with?"

"Spike? He got in a duel with Vicious and they killed each other."

"Vicious? Is that somebody's name?"

"Let's just say it fits him." Faye shivered. "He gives me the creeps. He's the scariest guy I've ever met—and I've been face to face with a lot. I didn't believe in demons until I met him. I don't mind saying I'm glad he's dead, and I hope there is a Hell, and that he's in the worst level of it."

Jet and Don strode up and took their places at the table. "We saw Marilyn Monroe's shampoo bottle," Don said.

"And Benny Goodman's corset and pen," Jet added with excitement.

A sideburned man in a gold jumpsuit carried a guitar around, and sang rock'n'roll numbers to diners. "A serenading Elvis," Maybelle observed. "We have an Elvis on every street corner."

"And a wedding chapel," Don chimed in.

"Most of them with their own resident Elvis," Maybelle added. "It's real easy to get married in this town with as little or as much fuss as you want. Did you say you were engaged?"

Faye blushed and Jet shrugged. "No, we're not married or engaged," Faye explained.

"Well, whenever you're ready, come back to Vegas-on-Venus. There's always a chapel open any time of the day or night."

"Actually, we're just friends. Business partners, of sorts," Faye reminded them.

Maybelle and Don looked at each other meaningfully and smirked.

"This whole Elvis thing has gotten to be a farce," Jet remarked, leaning his chin on his fist. "Elvis has become like Santa Claus—most people forget he evolved from a real person."

"Well, I know about the real Elvis Aron Presley," Faye announced with importance. "When I was a kid, there were still people alive who remembered the real Elvis."

Maybelle was puzzled. "How is that possible?"

"She's a deep freeze case," Jet explained. "She was put into cold sleep for a few decades."

Maybelle turned to Faye. "You mean, you're older than me?"

Faye nodded, smiling.

"Why, that's incredible! It must be like time travel!"

"It's..disorienting," Faye told her. "Plus people try to take advantage of you when you're confused. The experience made me who I am today."

"So how old are you?"

"I like to say I'm twenty-three and holding."

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They were on their way to their next destination, which Maybelle and Don chose not to reveal.

In the passenger seat again, Faye chuckled weakly. "It's funny, me and Jet carrying on about Spike this way. He wasn't exactly a knight in shining armor, or Prince Charming. Oh, he could do some heroic things, but usually there was something for him to gain by doing so..or he was just being reckless.

"He had some electricity about him. He was very good-looking, and he had a sexy, purring voice. It drew you to him even when he was being a jerk. And he could be such a jerk. He wouldn't even treat me with respect or talk to me nice, at first." She lowered her head. "I think he thought of me as a slut."

"Well," Maybelle began cautiously. "I don't know everything that you've done, but I can see you're a very complicated woman. Even if you have done some naughty things, there's more to you than that."

"I'm no princess. Ever since I got out of deep freeze, I've been a whiny bitch who lives by the idea of stick it unto others before they stick it unto you."

Maybelle shot her a gentle smile. "You don't have to be that way if you don't want to."

"I--" Faye faltered. "It's hard..I feel like an abstract sculpture that got shattered, and when they put me back together, I was rearranged into an entirely new form."

"Yes, it's a challenge all right, but you can do it—get back to where you want to be. Don smoked for several years, but he gave that up."

"Uh, one problem at a time, please!" Faye giggled nervously.

"You can't go right from step A to step Z, dear. But maybe you can go from A to B, and on from there. One step at a time."

Faye sighed. "I don't know why you're being so nice to me. I'm really not your type."

"Oh, don't be silly!"

"But I'm not! People like you, you believe in purity and, and abstinence. I'm not married. I'm not a virgin."

"Well, you're not the only one. Especially in this day and age."

"Spike was probably right about me. I've been using my 'feminine charms' to get me by. It's hard being all alone in the universe with no friends or family. Usually, I didn't have to see through my promise of sex to some chump, but sometimes…there was no way out. I con and have been conned."

"You know, dear, I find most people who have 'fooled around' really only want the same things as everyone else. To find a true love who will be there for them."

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Their next stop was drinks at the top of a needlelike tower. The tallest free-standing structure on this side of Venus, it was part of a resort called Cosmos.

"Is that girl really just your business partner, or you got something going with her?" Don asked Jet, after the women had gone to the ladies' lounge.

"A girl who looks like her, and a guy who looks like me," Jet said, and left it trailing, leaving it to Don to reach his own conclusions.

"Hey, it takes all kinds of couples to make up the universe," Don remarked. "I'm not some soap opera hunk myself, but Maybelle still loves me. The question is, if your 'partner' was willing, would you take her?"

Jet smiled slightly, and looked out the panoramic windows. "I'm not sayin'."

Don punched his shoulder lightly. "Of course you would!" He rubbed the edge of his glass with his finger. "I'm a married Christian—I'm not 'supposed' to notice these things anymore, but she's mighty fine, if you ask me."

"Let me tell you something about a girl who looks like that," Jet began confidentially. "You can't trust her. She took everything I had down to my shorts in a fixed dice game. Stripped me bare. Literally."

"Well, if you knew it was fixed, you could demand it all back."

"And I did get it back, thanks to my old partner's info."

"Swindled you out of your skivvies." Don chuckled. "Nothing that interesting has ever happened to me." He fingered his glass. "Maybe I should challenge Maybelle to a game of strip poker."

Jet turned his head and grimaced at the thought of the Valentines sitting around in the underwear.

"Heck, the kids are gone; they won't get in the way," Don continued. "So, she's seen you naked before…"

"Forget I ever mentioned it. I don't even want to go there."

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The ladies' restroom at the bar was lush, with chairs and a couch placed before a lighted mirror. Faye and Maybelle sat down for a few minutes, to talk without the guys being around.

"...No matter what I said, he was intent on marching off to his doom."

"Did you tell him your feelings for him?" Maybelle queried.

Faye shook her head. "No, I don't think it would have made a difference. I don't think he would've given a damn. Even after she died, there was always Julia. The love of his life. The one he'd always love more than me."

"Did you meet her?"

"Yes, I met her. I saved her life—then she goes and gets killed anyway."

"What if they survived? What would happen then?"

"I suppose they'd live happily ever after, or get married."

"Would you have fought her for him?"

Faye shook her head. "No. I didn't even fight her in death—I convinced Jet to bury them side by side, so they could be together in death, at least. I don't know why."

"I think you do, dear. You were willing to sacrifice your own desire for his happiness. That's true love, Faye, and you're perfectly capable of it. Wait for it; it will come again."

"I tried to make him stay," Faye remembered. "That might have been selfish, in a way. But earlier, I let him know I had met her and that she wanted to see him again. I could have withheld that information." She turned to Maybelle, grasping her hands. "What if when true love comes again, it all ends up in tragedy just like before?"

"Well, in this town we talk about odds a lot." The motherly woman smiled. "The odds are against true love always ending in tragedy." Maybelle changed course. "What about Jet, dear? He's not your husband or boyfriend or agent. What is he to you? Besides a 'business partner'?"

Faye closed her eyes before answering. "I don't know. He's..there. He's just there. Like an anchor or something."

"He has been your port in a storm through all this?" Maybelle guessed.

Faye nodded slowly. "Jet was Spike's friend—he loved him, too, in a way. He's the only one who can begin to understand what it means for me to lose Spike." She blushed. "I'm sorry. I know you're trying to understand, too, but—you never got to meet him."

"It's alright, dear, I know what you're saying. Have you learned anything from this whole experience? I find bad times often teach us important lessons."

Faye closed her eyes and thought for a few moments. When she spoke at last, she spoke slowly. "What I learned is that sometimes the thing or person you've been looking for has been right under your nose all along and you better find that out and tell them before it's too late. And I learned that instead of being some far off place, your place of belonging may be right where you're at now."

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Jet took a sip from his drink. "She's gonna fly one of these days—and I'm not gonna stop her when she does. I've been thinkin'—it'd be good to get back to being on my own. I got rid of her weird friends. She's the only one left of the old crew. It's about time she moved on."

Don nodded. "So you bought her a really expensive piece of jewelry. You're a very contradictory person, Jet. What are you going to do—plant a homing device on that ring?"

Jet was starting to get miffed. "Look—if her heart belongs to anybody, it belongs to my dead partner. How do you expect me to compete with a guy who's dead?"

Don was saved from having to answer by the return of Faye and Maybelle.

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The Valentines weren't through with Cosmos. They went a couple of floors higher and led Jet and Faye onto the roof of the tower. It was windy out, and Faye expected to be knocked right over the edge. To her surprise, she saw people boarding two rides—a roller coaster and a ride that shot you straight up in the air and let your chair free fall back down. "Let me guess—we're going on these."

"We can if you want, but you buy your tickets downstairs," Maybelle said. "Personally, the height makes it too scary for even Don and me. But it's neat just to watch them."

"Don't look now, Faye," Jet said in a low voice. "But someone's getting off the coaster."

Faye and her new friend saw a bearded man with unkempt, dark blond hair. "That's Casey Norville," Faye recognized. "He and his lover Heather con people."

"Yeah, once they stayed rent free in a Ganymede beach house by pretending the house was haunted," Jet said. "We're on vacation, but why pass up a golden opportunity?"

"You two stay back," Faye warned Maybelle and Don. "Go in the observation room."

"Now I'm beginning to feel like myself again!" Jet remarked as he and Faye walked towards Casey.

"Don't you like the Valentines?"

"They're not our type, Faye! They're too normal!"

Jet fell into place by Casey's left side, Faye by his right. "Scary ride, huh?" Faye asked the fugitive.

His eyes shifted in turn to each bounty hunter, and he made as if to stride ahead of them, but Jet grabbed his elbow. "Just keep walking all normal like. We're both armed."

"Okay, like, I'll be good!" Casey squeaked.

"Hold it right there!" a deceptively sweet voice ordered.

"Heather!" Casey cried.

Jet and Faye looked up to see a slim red-haired woman in a purple dress. She was pointing a pistol at them. "C'mon, Casey, you don't need to go with them."

Casey began to walk towards his lover, who kept her pistol trained on Jet and Faye. Faye was alarmed to see him pass by Maybelle, who was standing by the wall at the edge of the roof. The wind blew; the tower seemed to shiver.

Maybelle stuck out a foot, tripping Casey. Heather fired at Maybelle. The impact sent her straight over the edge.

"You bitch!" Faye shrieked. "I'll kill you!" She shot Heather, putting a hole through her shoulder. The girl collapsed. Casey cowered on the ground, his arms over his head and his buttocks sticking up in the air.

Jet ran over to the edge. "Faye, look! She's gonna be okay!"

Faye ran over to see Maybelle had landed on a further section of roof. Her arm had been winged. The greatest damage had been to her peace of mind.

Don had his own pistol aimed at Heather's forehead, but he was shaking. He couldn't fire.

Jet came over and lowered his arm. "It's okay. Maybelle will be fine and this girl's too wounded to go anywhere."

"I guess I wouldn't make a good bounty hunter," Don muttered. "I can't even shoot the girl who shot my wife."

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Faye and Jet were at the Valentines' house. Maybelle wore her arm in a sling, but still enjoyed showing Faye family photo albums.

Jet, ill at ease, sat in a chair over in a corner. Caleb came and lay down by his feet, sighing.

"Maybelle, what did you hope to accomplish by tripping that guy?" asked Don. "It wouldn't have done any good any way you look at it."

"Don, we've been over this a million times—I thought I was keeping him from getting away."

Jet got up and went to the kitchen to look for something to drink.

"I'm glad you didn't kill his girlfriend," Maybelle said to Faye. "I would have felt bad about that."

"My, Calhoun was a cute little boy," Faye commented, pointing at a photo. She wasn't bored at all—it had been so long since she felt this kind of connection to anyone. Not just a connection of family, but a parental bond.

As if reading her mind, Maybelle said, "I know we're probably only very distantly related, and that you're technically older than I am, but if you need a substitute Ma—" She glanced at Don. "—And Pa, we're here for you."

Because of her injured arm, Faye half-embraced Maybelle. "Oh, thank you! Maybe now I can get back to pursuing the life I wanted instead of the one—"

Interrupting Faye, the doorbell rang. Don got it. "Calhoun!" Maybelle cooed.

The handsome young blond son walked in. "Hi, Ma! Hi, Pa! I got here as soon as I could."

"Well, I'm glad you came," Maybelle said, rising from the couch. "Oh, Calhoun, this is my new friend, Faye. Treat her like one of the family."

"You mean ask her to lend me some money?" Calhoun joked affably. He shook Faye's hand. "Glad to meet you."

"I see you haven't lost any of your good looks since those childhood photos your Ma was showing me," Faye said flirtatiously.

He blushed. "Aw, Ma, why are you showing those?"

In the kitchen, Jet grunted and looked at Caleb. Caleb returned the glance with sympathy. "This is the way it always starts out," Jet muttered to the dog. "She thinks she's found a place of belonging. So she ups and leaves. Well, not this time. This time I'll beat her to the punch. Is there a back door to this place?"

Caleb waddled up to a door in the kitchen wall and scratched at it. "Good enough," Jet remarked.

Faye had been so busy chatting with Maybelle, Don, and Calhoun that she didn't notice Jet was gone until the Valentines started preparing for dinner—pot roast, of course.

She wandered down the hallway, peeping into rooms, then came into the kitchen. "Has anyone seen Jet?"

They all looked puzzled and shook their heads.

Faye thought a moment, then her eyes widened when she realized the truth. "I can't stay! I'll contact you later!" She made as if to rush out the door, but stopped herself. "Can someone drive me to the spaceport?"

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Calhoun brought her there in his sports car. Faye thanked him brusquely, then ran off to where the _Bebop_ was supposed to be docked. In its place she saw a much smaller craft—her own _Redtail_. Faye swore.

She climbed in. Her meager amount of smaller possessions was crammed behind the seat. "Dammit, Jet, you still have my beta tape player. I'm coming after you!"

She flew into space; orbited a little around Venus. Maybe Jet was still there. If he had already gone through a gateway, she'd never catch him. Wait! Yeah, she saw the _Bebop_, and hailed it. "Just where do you think you're going?!"

Jet was having a bit of fun turning the volume up and down on Faye's ranting. He was playing editor and censoring all her profanity. "Jet, listen to me, you as…Don't make me come and f…hunt you down, you sorry b…Do you hear me, Jet?!"

"She's complaining about me? She deserves this for all the times she ran out on us!"

Her anger turned into a desperate sadness. "Jet, I wasn't gonna leave! I swear, I wasn't going to leave!"

Jet sighed, remembering a fight he had had with Spike in Jovian space. "You got something?"

"Huh? Why would I have a bounty?"

"Never mind. You can come in. But make it quick."

Jet was there in the hold when Faye got out of her ship. She considered running to him to hug him, but instead ran to him to give him a light fist pummeling. "Jet! Why'd you take off without me?"

Jet glared at her as though it were obvious. "You found a family. You don't need me anymore."

"Jet! Stop it! You're being silly. Hmmph." Faye folded her arms against her breasts. "Look, Jet," she began again, quietly. "I'm not sure yet what part you play in my life, but I do know I want you in my life. And I won't run out on you again if you don't run out on me."

Jet was silent. Faye leaned her head against his upper arm. "C'mon, Jet, say something! Anything."

He took his other arm and drew her to his chest. Breaking the embrace quickly, he spoke. "What about your new family?"

"I've got their number. I'll keep in touch. But I'm not giving up bounty hunting and moving into suburbia. There's no reason why I can't be friends with both them and you."

"And Calhoun?"

Faye squinted in confusion. "I just met Calhoun. As the son of my substitute parents, I'm sure he'll be like a brother at most. I'm not gonna marry him, Jet!" _Wait a minute. Did I just explain to Jet I'm not interested in another guy? Did Jet just show jealousy? What is that all about? This is weird._ She steeled herself for another question in Jet's interrogation.

"What do you want for dinner?"

"Huh?"

"I said, what do you want for dinner? We've got a fully stocked refrigerator—take your pick."

Faye smiled. "Oh, I see. Let me think…"

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Before they left Venusian space for Earth, Edward, and Ein, Faye called the Valentines on the video phone. "So you caught your man in time," Maybelle observed.

Faye blushed at her unusual choice of words. "Yeah. You know how paranoid men get sometimes."

"Take good care of each other, dear," Maybelle advised.

"Okay." Faye paused. "I think the worst is over now. I'm gonna make it. I have something that I didn't have between waking up from cold sleep and joining the _Bebop_. I have friends and family now. We're heading to Earth to try and put some of the _Bebop_ family back together."

"God be with you, dear. And I must say one thing more—"

"What's that?"

"Your relationship with Jet is changing. Don't be afraid of it. He's a good man."


	3. Chapter 3

ANIMATED GIRL SUITE

PART TWO: MEGAERA CHORUS

_Sleeping Beauty. Anastasia. They're not the only ones I relate to. There was this movie set in mythological Greece. This dame had been in love before. She risked everything for her man, but he jilted her for some wispy little thing. End result: she was left jaded, and now she had an attitude and a sharp mouth. A new guy came into town. He was big and strong, and he was a nice guy, too! And he loved her. But she was afraid to love him. Yet in the end, he would go the distance for her, and bring her soul back from the dead._

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Faye tossed and turned on her bed. Motherly love, fun in Vegas-on-Venus, and they would pick up Ed and Ein the next day..she was alive again. Yet she still felt some vague angst, some restlessness. _Well,_ she thought. _I suppose I'm not over Spike yet. Do all guys think of me like he thought of me? That I'm just some floozy to use, or in his case, reject?_

_Damn, how could he make me care, but not care himself? He made me feel good things, honorable things. Real love. I thought when that happened, it was supposed to be mutual._

A blurry image came to her. Someone in her elusive past. Like a dream that disappears upon waking, she couldn't grasp who this man was. Someone who had cared. Someone from long ago. _Whoever it was, it's too late for us now._ But whoever it was, Faye knew he had respected her. Truly loved her. She sighed for this forgotten loved one.

Jet respected her..didn't he? He cared for her. Maybe at one time he didn't, but he did now. She had enjoyed her time with him in Vegas. Yeah. Jet was different. Different from the losers she had entrusted her heart to before.

Lately, when she got restless like this, she needed company. Time to sneak into Jet's cabin again. He'd probably gripe at her. But maybe he'd be asleep and not even know.

Maybe he'd be awake.

That would be even better.

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Jet was awake, his arms folded behind his head, when his cabin door opened. Faye stood silhouetted in the doorway a moment before stepping in.

"You didn't wait until I was asleep this time," Jet noted.

"I didn't want you to miss me," she said flippantly, lying down beside him.

Jet stared at the ceiling a few moments longer, but nothing of interest was going on up there. He stretched his arms, his flesh arm accidentally brushing against Faye's chest.

She giggled.

Jet thought that was an unusual reaction, so he warily put a hand on her arm. She laughed with delight.

The next thing he knew, she had rolled on top of him. "Hi, Jet!" she exclaimed mischievously. She leaned her head towards his. Her lips were upon his—he decided to go with the flow and respond, his arms encircling her back. He liked her taste.

Her hands went to her sports top she wore as part of her nightclothes. "Faye, wait!" She hesitated at the sound of his voice. "Are you sure you wanna do this? Because I won't be able to say no to you."

She smiled impishly. "Oh, I'm counting on that."

"Okay, but if you regret this later, it's your own damn fault!"

"Oh, Jet, you say the sweetest things!"

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So they gave themselves fully over to lovemaking, hoping to find in each other healing. But there are some scars which can never be healed, at least in this lifetime. Still, Jet was so tender with her, that Faye found herself responding with tenderness of her own, both to ease his pain and to acknowledge the bond between them, existing from all their shared adventures and trials, if nothing else.

She didn't know what she had been expecting, but she received more. She received thoughtfulness she hadn't gotten from other lovers. She could hardly believe it—this wasn't just sex, he was really making love to her. How long had he loved her? Why hadn't he said anything? He must have considered himself undesirable compared to a handsome, young buck like Spike. True, Jet didn't have the prettiest face, but he did have a well-built body. There was nothing to be ashamed of in that regard. And he was, deep down, a kind man.

They didn't find the meaning of life, or an end to their sorrows. But they did find love they had never known was there before this, and they found affection that had been missing from both of their lives for so many years.

When it was over, he gave her one more kiss on the top of her head, and out of breath, she leaned against his chest for a few moments. Then, she turned around, so that now her backside was resting against his chest. His flesh arm supported her; his mechanical arm was draped over her. The contraption wasn't as hard to get used to as she had worried it would be—its inner workings kept it at a pleasantly warm temperature. She knew that he himself felt little sensation through it. The rise and fall of his chest as he breathed reminded her of the rhythm of the tides, and was lulling her into a feeling of peace and contentment.

She spoke. "There's something different about you, Jet. Different than those other guys."

"You mean the arm?"

"No, something else."

"A good something else, or--?"

"Yeah, a good something."

"Better than Whitney?"

"Whitney, please! Actually, I was still innocent then, up to the time he ditched me and left me in debt. _Then_ I went wild. But I still wanted real love—I just kept running into insincere guys who swore they loved me with all their heart and soul and then just left when they got what they wanted. So I got jaded. What about you? When was your first time?"

"Prostitute."

"Prostitute? Really?"

"I got impatient," he explained sheepishly. "Then I had Alisa for awhile. I would've married her, but she had a hang-up about official commitment. Now I know why. She says I was too domineering. Sometimes I think maybe she couldn't get used to the arm."

"The arm's not so bad. You ever gonna tell me how you got it? Or where you went that one time you let Ed water your plants, and you wouldn't say anything to us when you got back?"

"Actually, they're both connected…" And he told her the stories, and she told him more of hers. Faye reflected that this had been the most intimate night of her life—not just physically, but emotionally. And, departing from their usual style of conversation, not once did she and Jet argue. Eventually, the conversation waned, and Faye wrapped herself around Jet' flesh arm, clutching it fiercely like a little girl hugging a teddy bear, and she drifted off to sleep.

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Faye awoke gradually, finding herself in Jet's cabin, in his bed, again. She wasn't too shocked at that. Then she remembered everything they had done last night.

It was her fault, she supposed. _Well, of course it's your fault! You keep inviting yourself into his bed!_She supposed it was a little his fault, too. He hadn't put up much of a fight.

Always she felt guilt the morning after, intertwining with her sense of lingering pleasure. The guilt was, she mused, something to do with religion. Damn—if there was one bad thing about meeting Maybelle, it was that her statement of her moral standards had caused Faye to doubt her own. That, and her increasing glimpses of her past as a good and chaste schoolgirl. If not for those things, Faye probably wouldn't have felt guilty.

Where was Jet anyway? Faye doubted he had left her. She was still on board his ship, after all.

Just then, Jet walked into the room, carrying a tray laden with juice and eggs. "I made you breakfast in bed," he explained sheepishly.

Faye smiled. "Oh, how sweet! No one's ever done that for me before!"

And as she began to dine, she understood maybe it had been wrong not to wait, but at least Jet would stick around.

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Jet tended his bonsai plants, his blissful mood disintegrating into a more foul and disturbed one. _You had her last night—that doesn't mean you'll be able to keep her. _ _Soon as some pretty boy with a full head of hair starts looking her way, you'll be history._

He stared at the plants, looking like tortured, twisted souls, growing in spite of all the pain. _Like her and me..and Spike. _Trying to think lighter thoughts, he mused, _Ed wouldn't be a bonsai, though. Hmmm, maybe a Venus flytrap. Yeah, I can see her as that._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

As she wandered the ship in an idle daze, Faye realized she felt altered now. In fact, the very air around her seemed altered. She somehow knew a new era, a third era, of her life had begun. Era one was her old life in Singapore, decades ago. Era two was everything since she had come out of cold sleep. She supposed joining the _Bebop_ crew should count as the start of a new era—maybe part B of era two, she decided. That life had died with Spike.

She sighed, remembering how it was here that she had revealed to Spike that Julia wanted to see him. She had thought she was being magnanimous by doing so. She should have been selfish and never told him.

Jet was in his bansai room, and he heard her sigh. "Spike?" he guessed.

Faye hesitated in answering. "I—"

"It's okay. Neither of us will forget that bastard. That's just the way it is." He rested his chin on his artificial fist. Faye knew he was going to say something, so she waited.

"Last night," he said finally. "Was it just a fluke?"

"No, I—" she began softly.

"Or was it just to forget Spike?"

"Spike's history," she said, stretching her arms behind her head and feigning a yawn. "I got over him a long time ago."

"It's only been a month," Jet pointed out.

"Oh," she said sourly. Then her tone rose. "Why are you asking me this?" she yelled defensively. "What about you? Was it all just catharsis for your pent-up emotions?"

"Are you saying I'm the one who did it to forget Spike?" Jet asked, incredulous.

"It's possible!"

"Look, I just want to be sure we know what we're getting into."

She didn't want it all to be a fluke. She felt that somehow she now knew Jet better than anyone else, and he in turn knew her more intimately than anyone else. Which was most likely untrue, but still, she felt it. She felt warmth. And it was about time there was some warmth on this cold ship. She leaned down and draped her arms around his shoulders. "If it all was just catharsis or a fluke, it'll fizzle out soon enough, and then we'll know. But I was lonely; you were lonely—"

"Could it have been anyone last night?"

This startled her. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Wouldn't you have rather had someone better looking than me?"

"Stop it! Jet, it had to be you. It wouldn't have been the same with some generic 'hunk'. You care about me, and I care about you."

"Do you love me?"

"Huh?" Her cheeks flushed.

He knew she had heard. "Well?"

"I'm not..sure yet. I hope I do."

"Never mind. That's an honest answer, and it'll do for now."

She figured if she had to answer these tough questions, so did he. She stood at his side, running her finger along his face. "Do you..love me?"

He was silent a moment, staring straight ahead.

"Well?"

He sighed. "Yeah."

"I knew it! For how long?"

He thought back. He wasn't about to tell her now—maybe some day down the road—but he believed the turning point in his feelings for her, when he had gone from indifference to crush, had been the rigged dice game that resulted in everything of his belonging to her, including his clothing. True, she had been cold and conniving, but that game had aroused him as much as mortified him. Seemed crazy, though, which is why he didn't want to mention it to her. Then, shortly after, when she ran away to Callisto, and he searched for her like one would search after a lost lover—that cemented his newfound feelings.

"I don't know," Jet said finally. "Certainly not when we first met. I didn't even like you then. But somewhere along the way—before all this happened with Spike getting killed."

Faye felt her heart melt. "Oh, Jet, you're so sweet!" She kissed him.

"Don't you go advertising that to the galaxy," he warned crankily. "Criminals aren't afraid of bounty hunters who are 'sweet'."

"Why, you're bashful!" she exclaimed, noticing his face had turned red. "This is a whole new side of you I'm seeing."

"After last night, there's not many sides left you haven't seen."

"You know, you have a self esteem problem," Faye said with a smile.

"So do you."

"Comes from being used, I guess."

"I know that feeling," he remarked. "We're not that different, you and I. Even though you'd think it at first glance. We work at the same profession; we're tough and jaded. We smoke and like a stiff drink now and then. And we've got a weakness for games of chance."

"Especially the ponies," Faye said with a smile. "You know, we can help each other out with our common problems."

Jet feigned innocence. "How?"

She leaned in closer. "Like this," she said softly, before placing her lips on his.

A signal sounded over the ship's intercom. The _Bebop_ was ready to exit the space gate. Faye and Jet pulled apart reluctantly.

"Time to find Edward," Jet announced.

And her little dog, too," Faye added.

He stood, and turned to go to the control room. Faye stood still for a moment, then caught up with him. "Jet, wait!" He stopped and looked back at her. "This—you and I—this isn't just a passing thing. Maybe I'm not sure yet how much I love you, but..I feel different now." _Like an innocent bride on her honeymoon. _"Everything's different and we can't go back. I think we can make things work. We know each other well—it's not like we have illusions about each other. I'll give it a go."

He grinned. "Well, I never was one to pass up a challenge, either."

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Edward and Ein had made their way back to the ruins of Singapore. They sat now at the base of the old merlion fountain that had once been the landmark of a proud and advanced city-state. "Look, Ein, there's the _Bebop_!" Edward pointed. Ein barked as they watched the ship descend.

Edward felt her heart burst with both happiness and sadness. She couldn't figure out her conflicting feelings, so she switched to Françoise. "I hope they will accept me, Françoise, as they did Edward. Yes, that would make me almost happy."

Ein panted and would have wagged his tail if he had one.

The two ran to the ship and waited for Jet and Faye to disembark. Still being Françoise, Edward stood back and let the dog greet the two adults first. Ein was so excited to see Jet that he peed at the man's feet. Jet crossed his arms. "Well, if it isn't the little dog who deserted the man who fed him."

Ein whined, then looked up at Jet and smiled, his tongue hanging out. He held up a paw as his offering a handshake.

Jet leaned down and took the paw with his mechanical hand, patting Ein's head with his flesh hand. "Oh, okay. I never could stay mad at a dog anyway."

SJ came out. The two dogs sniffed each other. SJ growled. Ein barked with authority, and the younger dog whined and rolled over on his back. And that was the end of that.

Faye beckoned the girl closer. "Edward, look at you! It hasn't been too long and you've grown." Françoise self-consciously put a hand over one of her breasts. "You're becoming a young lady." Faye hugged the child, which confused Edward so much that she squirmed out of Faye's hands like a hyperactive puppy.

She quickly became her alter ego again. She made a slight bow to Jet. "Hello, I'm Françoise."

"I know," Jet said. "We've met."

"Françoise hopes she will find a place aboard your ship," she continued in a polite and regal tone.

"Oh, Edward, we've all changed," Faye cooed, wrapping herself around Jet's flesh arm and resting her head against him in an intimate manner. "It's okay."

The girl stared open-mouthed at Faye and Jet.

"What?" Faye wondered.

"Are you two in love?"

"Well…"

The kid didn't wait for an answer. The thought of them being in love amused her so much she instantly bounded back into her Edward persona, and fell on her back, laughing to the sky. She then jumped up and skipped in circles around the two adults, singing that treasured standard, "Jet and Faye-Faye sitting in a tree/K-I-S-S-I-N-G/First comes love, then comes marriage/Here comes Faye-Faye with a baby carriage!" She then launched into her own little ditty about all being fair in love and war. Finally, she exhausted herself, so she plopped down, and patted and prodded SJ. "Ooh, another little doggie."

"Now that's the Edward I know," Jet remarked.

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On board the ship, Edward ran to Spike's cabin, as if to confirm he was no longer there. "Everything's the same." She must have been Françoise for the moment; she said it so solemnly. "Like he'll come back."

"We haven't touched it much," Faye said, coming up behind her and laying a hand on her shoulder. "I suppose that someday we may need the cabin for something else."

"Like a room for your baby!"

"Edward, we have no plans for a baby."

"Ha! Maybe baby has plans for you."

Faye felt a queer feeling in the pit of her stomach. What if Edward was right? She and Jet had acted purely on impulse; they had taken no precautions.

"Do not worry, Faye-Faye! Edward and Françoise will babysit! We'll take turns!"

"Well, that's good to know, I suppose."

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Faye and Edward were in the living room of the ship, but the _Bebop_ had not taken off yet. "Edward, while you've been in town, did you see a wheelchair-bound old lady named Sally Yung?"

"Hey, hey, I'm Edward, you never know where I'll be found," sang the girl, spinning on the floor. "So you better get ready, I may be coming to your town."

"Can I speak to Françoise?"

The girl sighed. "Françoise speaking."

"Sally Yung?"

"Yeah, I know where she is." Françoise stood up. "C'mon," she said tiredly.

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Ed and Faye stopped in front of a stairway and adjacent ramp leading underground. A sign posted out front read in English, Chinese, Arabic, and some Indian script, "Singapore Home for the Aged." "If she be anywhere, Ed know she be in here," Ed proclaimed, delighting in her bad grammar.

"Well, it's worth trying." Faye warily placed a foot on the first step. Ed, meanwhile, sat down on the ramp and tried to slide down it. It wasn't slippery enough, so she scooted down instead.

After telling the woman at the head desk that they were looking for Sally, they were let into a TV room, where several elderly men and women were gathered around. "Why, Faye, you've come back," Sally greeted from the living room. "I _knew_ you'd come back. Didn't I say so, Mei Ling?"

Another old woman gasped. Faye was afraid she had given her a heart attack. Obviously, another comrade of days gone by. Faye would need to be prodded to remember which playmate she had been; she wasn't a child anymore.

The room was silent for a moment, maybe two.

Then the old woman hoisted herself off of the couch and walked slowly over to her. She grasped Faye's hands in her own. "Faye, don't tell me you forget your best friend, Mei Ling?"

"Mei…" Faye began hesitantly. "Mei..Mei..Mei Mei!" Faye remembered. She used to call Mei Ling "Mei Mei" just like Ed sometimes called her Faye Faye.

In fact, Ed started bouncing around the room, yelling, "Mei Mei Faye Faye!" over and over, annoying most of the residents.

"Would you _please_ tell your daughter to quiet down?" demanded an angry nurse.

Faye looked at her quizzically.

"Your sister, then," the receptionist attempted to correct.

"Partner in crime!" Ed shouted, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Ed, be quiet!" Faye ordered. "This is not the time or the place for silliness."

"Is it?" Ed returned.

Faye glared at her. Sulking, Ed—or Françoise—sat down on the floor.

"You don't have much in the way of memories of me, do you, Faye?" Mei Ling asked.

"My memories are coming back gradually," Faye confessed. "A little more each day. I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

" I was hoping you could fill in some of the blanks."

"I'll try my best, dear, but my memory's starting to go just as yours is coming back." The way she gestured with her hand took Faye back half a century, and she saw Mei as a teen, with black hair and unwrinkled face. Dear she had called Faye. Like an old woman talking to a young woman would. Yet Faye couldn't quite bring herself to think of Mei as grandmotherly, when she had known her as a contemporary, peer, and childhood friend. _This is like a sci-fi episode where people you know as young age overnight._ "There's so much to cover, you know. I don't know what you remember and what you don't. Come, let's go to my room where we can talk in private."

Faye followed the slowly walking elderly woman to a small room, and Ed came along, because she was not about to be left out of anything.

Mei Ling sat down on the edge of her bed, watching as Faye glanced at photos on the wall and placed atop bureaus and tables. An Asian man was with Mei Ling in many of them—Faye gathered that that was her husband. He had short hair, a round face, and a friendly smile. He seemed familiar. "Let's start with him," she decided. "I know him from somewhere."

"Of course you do, dear. That's Ke. You had a crush on him in high school, and in college he was your sweetheart."

Faye flashbacked—_her and her schoolmates giggling. "Faye likes Ke!" "Oh, I do not!" Ke stepping closer. "Did somebody mention my name?" Faye blushing and her classmates giggling some more. _"Ke—how could I forget! We used to talk about what our lives would be like together! Kids, careers, a home…" Her face was a portrait of regret and disbelief. "I forgot. I forgot all about him."

"Well.." Mei Ling began awkwardly. "I guess that's the effect being unconscious for five decades has. It's not your fault."

Faye said nothing, her eyes unfocused, a sigh escaping her lips.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this," Mei Ling said, breaking her out of her reverie. "I know how tight you once were. But I married him."

"Oh, that's okay, Mei Ling!" Faye knelt down by her old schoolmate. "You must have known I would be gone for too long. I'm just glad the two of you have been there for each other for a lifetime."

"He died four years ago," she said. "Too bad—it would have tickled him to see you again."

"Or maybe it would have reopened an old wound."

"Ke never forgot you. It took him awhile to get back on his feet."

Faye sat down on the bed. "When I came out of cold sleep, they gave me the name Faye Valentine. The Faye part is obviously correct, but I don't think the Valentine is."

Mei Ling shook her head. "Valentine. Not even close. That's not even of the same ethnicity."

"So what is my surname?"

Ed, who had been sitting on the floor, scrunched into a dusty corner, looked around curiously.

"Why," Mei Ling answered. "It's Wong."

Ed jumped up. "Wong? As in Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky the Fourth? That means Faye is Ed's mother!"

"Ed, I was in cold sleep when you were conceived!"

Ed jumped into Faye's lap. "Read Edward a story, Mommy!"

"No! Now get off of me!"

"What relation is she to you?" Mei Ling wondered. "A friend?"

Faye sighed. "It's a long story."

"And you will tell it all to Ed!"

"Ed, you already know your own story."

Mei, pointing to her head, leaned in closer to Faye and whispered, "Is she quite well?"

"I don't think so, but no one's ever checked."

"Faye is Ed's Mommy," Ed chirped. "And Jet is my Daddy. And real father person Apple Dairy is—is a relative! And Spike is the dead dad..the deadbeat dad."

"How many fathers can one child have?" Mei Ling wondered.

"And Ein is Ed's dog!" Ed put a hand on Faye's belly. "And baby is my brother/sister."

Mei Ling's eyes widened. "You're expecting?"

"Not that I know if," Faye answered. "Ed's just got this idea and she's obsessed with it." Wanting to get off the subject, Faye asked, "Did they tell you—did they tell any of you—when I would be thawed out?"

"They kept lengthening the time—from a couple of years to maybe twenty years. Then you were to be moved to another facility—your parents didn't know yet or didn't tell us which one. Then came the meteor showers. A chunk of moon destroyed your house and your parents were killed."

"Oh!" Faye gasped, as though it had just happened.

"The other Singapore Sisters eventually moved to new worlds. Ke searched for you, and I helped him, but it was useless."

"My records got obliterated in the gate accident. Or so they tell me."

"Even after we were married, Ke would sometimes follow up on a new lead," Mei Ling continued. "So you see, my dear, you weren't forgotten. There are people out there who care for you."

_She must have known me well, _Faye thought. _She sees what I am feeling._ "Did I have time to say goodbye to anyone? The last I can remember was being on the shuttle when it had an accident."

"That's all there is," Mei Ling told her sadly. "They were in a rush to freeze you. You were never allowed to awaken or say if you wanted to be kept frozen..to, well, when Hell freezes over."

"And I never saw my parents or Ke again…"

There was silence for a moment. Then Mei Ling wondered aloud, "Why did they wait so long before waking you, Faye? And what have you been doing since then? Where have you gone? Who has been your friends, your family?" Large tears rolled out of both of her eyes.

"Oh, don't cry for me, Mei Mei!" Faye chided, then froze as she again flashbacked. _Happy evenings at the dinner table with her mother and father. "What did you learn in school today, honey?" "About keeping healthy. I think I wanna be a doctor when I grow up." Sleepovers with her faithful group of friends, and laughter. Putting all their hands on top of one another: "And we, the Singapore Sisters, will be the best of friends forever." Ke asking, "Will you love me forever, Faye?" "Oh, yes, Ke. Forever. But not a day longer!" _She sighed. The values she had once had—she had betrayed them all. She had never even slept with Ke.

"I haven't been alone these past few years!" she continued to reassure. Then she fast-forwarded several years. _Whitney: "I fell in love with Sleeping Beauty..No. I'm lying. It's just another lie." Spike deriding her story of her past that she told to Ein, as if it were all one big lie. Like he could care. A thug holding a gun at her head. Spike aiming back, his eyes as cold as ice. And where was Jet anyway? Wasn't he even concerned? Spike refusing to be manipulated by the thug's implied threat of blowing Faye's brains out—instead simply and skillfully shooting the man, splattering blood on Faye's face. _Faye liked to think he had come to her rescue. She almost had herself convinced. But she realized that was not why he had come—he had had an ulterior motive. Her life had been so devoid of tenderness, compassion, love…

She found herself sobbing on Mei Ling's shoulder. "There, there, dear," the old lady cooed, patting her back.

"Faye-Faye crying," Ed said, not sounding sure if she was Edward or Françoise at the moment.

Faye looked up at the girl. There was genuine concern in the waif's eyes. Faye's memory called up more images. _Ein licking her feet. Waking from her cult-induced trance to find Spike waiting for her. Being held in Jet's arms after making love, talking about anything and everything…_He had been so tender with her, unlike any of her callous past lovers. Jet—and Edward and Ein, even Spike—they did care after all, you know. At least they had come to care.

Was it her or were they at fault for all those months of indifference? All those times she had run away. _"You were afraid of them betraying you, so you betrayed them. You distanced yourself from the whole thing."_ Faye thought of how Maybelle had extended the offer of friendship and family. But Faye realized she had to play a part in forging deeper relationships.

Faye raised her head. "I'll be alright. I may be over seventy years old, but look at me—I've still got my whole life ahead of me."

"That's the way to look at it," Mei Ling encouraged.

"I've got Edward, and Ein, and..that other dog. What's-his-face. Oh, SJ. I've got a new man in my life, Sally. He's a bit more rough and tumble than Ke, but…he's a good man. It may be a gamble, but this time I'm gonna make sure everything works out. This time I'm gonna win."

"What's his name?"

"Jet. He's good to me. Tell me…"

"Yes, dear?"

"What was I like back then?"

"You don't remember?"

"I remember some of it, but..how did others see me? How did you see me? I know I was different than the person I am now."

Mei Ling thought carefully for a moment before speaking. "You were alive, vivacious. You didn't hide your emotions. You laughed loudly and cried loudly, and always spoke your mind. You were always into mischief—" Here Mei Mei's eyes themselves took on a mischievous glint. "I don't mean trouble with drugs or sex or crime. You just had a tendency to wind up in a mess. Like the time you kidnapped our rival team's mascot."

Faye, mouth agape, held up a finger. "Wait! Don't tell me…It was a little gray parrot with a red tail!"

"Good, you remember!"

"That thing bit me a dozen times," Faye recalled. "Then it chewed me out. It was hardly worth the effort." Faye drew her knees up so that she was sitting in a cross-legged pose on the floor. "That's what I thought. That I wasn't into stuff like illicit sex or, or petty crime. Oh…I've been bad, Mei Mei! You wouldn't even like me anymore if I confessed half of what I've done."

"Well, you smoke now," Mei Ling said lightly. "My nose told me that. But you've always bounced back. It used to be nothing was impossible for you." She smiled. "'Don't lose, me!' That's a cheer you came up with a long time ago. Do you remember that?"

Faye chuckled. "I do, actually."

"Besides, Lu Ann got busted for red eye possession. Ming-Na got pregnant before marriage. It's not like all the Singapore Sisters remained pristine. I myself had a drinking problem at one time."

"Tell me more. Where did all the other girls go to?"

"Mars, Venus, Ganymede…"

"I'll never see them…" Faye trailed off, staring at a photo on the wall, of a young Ke and Mei Ling, Mei Ling holding a baby on her lap. Ke looked the same in the photo as Faye now remembered him.

"That was when our first child was born. Emily," Mei Mei explained.

Faye put a finger on Ke's face, as though she could reach across time and touch him, let him know she was alright. _Ke, what anguish you must have gone through. Choosing whether to get on with your life or not. I can't say you made the wrong decision._

"Faye, seeing you here, as young as when I last saw you—well, it's like time travel!"

"Too bad they don't have a time travel option to go with cold sleep," Faye remarked wryly. "So I could go back and live the life that was stolen from me. Naah, that's foolish!"

"Why?"

"You wouldn't have Ke to marry. Your children and grandchildren wouldn't have been born. And I wouldn't be there for Jet."

"You know, they say that 'all things work together for good'.." Mei Ling walked over to a small chest of drawers. She opened the top one, and pulled out a handful of photos. She leafed through them quickly, then handed two to Faye. "Here. I want you to have these."

Faye looked at the first photograph. It was of Ke, of course, and he was with not Mei Mei, but herself. The younger Faye was dressed in a red formal gown, and Ke in a tuxedo. A school dance, Faye figured. She would remember more later. The second photo had her in a cheerleader outfit, and Ke in a basketball uniform that exposed his well-toned arms. "I would love to keep these, Mei Mei," she began earnestly. "But..I've got to put the past behind me. My friend Spike didn't, and he died for it."

Sally wisely waved the notion aside. "It doesn't hurt to remember and cherish the past. Just don't live in it."

Faye smiled. "Okay. Thank you."

Mei Ling clasped Faye's hands. "This way you'll always remember the boy who never forgot you."


	4. Chapter 4

Jet saw Faye and Ed come back aboard the _Bebop_. Faye seemed distracted, then she glanced his way. Her eyes lit up and she smiled. This was so new to Jet that it startled him. But he liked it. She kissed him on the cheek. What should he say to her? "You're back in time for supper," Jet said. "I got some fresh produce from a local market." Angrily, Jet reprimanded himself for saying something so ordinary to the woman who was now his lover.

Faye shoved the photos at him. "I had a boyfriend. We weren't formally engaged, but we were going to marry. I just remembered him today."

"What happened to him?" Jet wondered, examining the pictures.

"He looked for me—uselessly. Married my friend. Had children and grandchildren and became an old man. Then he died."

"I didn't think you had anyone serious before," Jet admitted. "You said you were a virgin when you came out of cold sleep."

"Oh, I was. Ke and I were very chaste." She chuckled, taking the photos back in her hand, studying her image. "Hard to believe I was once that girl. Well, I just thought you should know—I told you about the others last night."

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They were sitting around the TV, eating dinner, en route to Mars.

"You said you had something good for Edward."

Faye looked up. "Huh?"

"Edward helped you find Singapore. You said you would give something good to Edward."

"That was a long time ago!"

Jet laughed. "She has a better memory than you!"

Faye got up, and looked around. "Oh, here, it's a souvenir of Vegas-on-Venus."

Edward looked it over. "Ooh, a pencil sharpener in the shape of a slot machine! This is indeed a great treasure! But where--?"

Faye tossed three glittering pencils bearing the logo "Vegas-on-Venus" at her.

"Never mind," Edward said, and instantly took to the task of sharpening. She sharpened the pencils until they were less than half their original size. She sighed, becoming Françoise. "That was pointless."

"Pointless!" Jet laughed, and Faye laughed with him. "I'd say you had three pretty sharp points there! But if you say it's pointless…!"

Françoise crossed her arms defensively. "Françoise does not make puns! Stop laughing!" They did not listen to her. Annoyed, she stalked out of the room.

"What's with her?" Faye asked Jet.

Jet shrugged. "I don't know. Apparently, she's all messed up inside."

"Yeah, that's what I thought."

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Faye had just gotten up the next day when Ed notified her she had e-mail. "Hmm, Cheryl Chong..do I know this woman?" She clicked on the subject line.

"Faye—I work with the Singapore Home for the Aged. I am sorry to tell you this, but Mei Ling passed away shortly after you left. But she was at peace and she was happy. Seeing you again gave her closure to her life, and she felt she could finally move on to the next world."

Faye sighed. "I guess I couldn't ask for anything more than to see her one more time."

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The first thing Faye did when they settled in at Tharsis was to volunteer to go grocery shopping. Alone. There was something she wanted to check out. She stored the kit under the mattress in her room, away from prying eyes, so it would be there if she should find herself needing it.

It didn't seem that long—a couple of weeks, one caught bounty, one missed bounty. The time had passed, and now she must use the kit. She hid it under her red sweater and sneaked it into the lavatory.

Edward had been right. Faye was pregnant. She sat on the cold tiles of the floor, contemplating what the home testing kit had told her.

She put a hand over her womb. "Hello in there, whoever you are. Or will be." In a way, she was excited. A child meant a bond with someone, family.

But there were other things to think about. She—and maybe Jet—would have to give up their gypsy lifestyle. There was no way she was risking the baby going hungry.

She'd need a new wardrobe.

She felt guilt again, like she had the morning after. Well, she supposed, that's what one got for acting impulsively.

Jet—what would he think? What would he do? He wasn't like the other guys, she reminded herself. Jet would stay. She knew that. He was a man of honor, if nothing else.

She idly wondered how Spike would have reacted if she bore his child. He always claimed to not like children.

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Jet was sitting in front of the TV when Faye approached him. Edward was lying in front of her computer, with the dogs looking over her shoulders, as though they could figure out what was on screen. Well, maybe Ein could, Faye mused.

"Um, Jet," Faye began timidly. "About my being sick…"

"What? You need a doctor?"

Faye chuckled and moved her hand to her stomach, rubbing it emphatically.

"Oh. 'Stomach problems.'" He nodded knowingly. "You don't want to talk about it. I understand."

"No, Jet," she almost whispered.

"What then?"

She mumbled something incoherent.

"What? Speak up, woman!"

"I…"

She didn't finish, because about this time, Jet had put two and two together. His shoulders slumped. "Oh, boy."

"Is it a boy then?" Edward asked excitedly, jumping up. "I think we should name him Frou-Frou."

"Ed, all I know is that it's a baby," Faye said loudly. "I don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl."

Jet rested his head in his hands. "It's a baby. That's what I thought you said."

"If it's a girl, then we should name her Frederick." Ed wheeled in circles around the room. "Or Albert. Very feminine and pretty. Oh, I know—Horace! Yeah, Horace. Definitely."

"Faye, you sure know how to complicate things," Jet complained.

"Me? You could have said no that night!"

"What, with the way you--?"

"Shhh!" Edward hushed. "Not in front of the kid."

"You mean--?" Faye looked at her belly.

"No, silly, me! I'm the kid!"

"Are you sure you're pregnant?" Jet asked.

"Yeah! I had a fool proof testing kit."

"Are you sure it's my kid?"

Faye slapped him.

Jet rubbed the handprint she had left on his cheek. "That means yes, I take it." He sighed. Suddenly he sat up. "Faye, sit down."

"I'm fine, really."

He stared at her.

She sighed. "Okay." She plunked herself down next to him.

"A baby means a lot of changes," Jet pointed out.

"Well, I already thought of _that_," Faye said.

Edward held her nose. "Edward will babysit, but will pass on the changes."

"Not those kind of changes!" Faye snapped. "And just what kind of babysitter will you be if you pass on that anyway?"

"And there's the money to consider," Jet mentioned, trying to ignore Ed's diversion.

"Like how much I earn for babysitting!" Edward exclaimed.

"You know, we really can't afford a baby. We can barely feed ourselves sometimes."

"I'm keeping the baby!" Faye insisted. "I'm not aborting it! Besides, if we can take on another dog, we can take on a baby!"

Jet held up placating hands. "Whoa! Who said anything about getting rid of the baby? I know pregnant woman are emotional, but there's no reason to be paranoid!"

"So you want the baby then?" Faye asked hopefully.

He shrugged. "Now that it's here, it might as well stay."

Edward threw up her hands. "Yay! The baby stays!" She fell onto her back, and her mind changed direction. "With the baby around, no one will pay attention to Françoise."

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Faye whispered to Jet.

"Me? You're the one who should talk to her."

Ein walked up to Françoise and licked her face. She giggled.

"I guess Ein's taken care of that problem," Faye observed.

"What about a name?" Jet wondered.

"Edward's already taken care of that!" Edward insisted. "The baby will be called Frou-Frou Black."

"Oh, I don't think so," Faye told her. "We should wait until we know what sex it is. But Jet—if it's a boy, I'm not naming him Spike. You already named the dog that."

Following that logic, Edward said, "But if it's a girl, you _will_ name her Spike. Or Spike-Ann. Or Mary-Spike." She rambled on.

"Those are the most ridiculous names I ever heard," Faye remarked. "Why are we including her in on this discussion?"

Ed threw her hands up in the air. "Because Edward is part of the family! Yea!" She fell over backwards.

"She's like a cat," Faye observed. "We didn't adopt her—she adopted us." She turned to Jet."I'm serious now..what are we going to do? I don't want the baby to ever go hungry."

"One thing at a time," he answered. "Why don't you speak to your mother?"

"I don't have..Oh, you mean Maybelle." She paused, then looked at him. "Jet, Sally told me my surname. It's an Asian name; it's not Valentine."

"That won't matter to her. Even if your real name was Valentine, you and her family would only be extremely distantly related at most."

Faye put a hand atop of his. "I wonder is everyone in Vegas-on-Venus is as friendly as her."

They looked at each other. "Vegas," they said in unison.

"I guess it's time for me to make you an honest woman," Jet said decisively.

"Make Faye-Faye an honest woman!" Ed teased, and she and Jet burst into hysterics.

"Very funny," Faye said sorely. "I can be honest…Actually, you're right. That is pretty far-fetched." Emotionally exhausted, Faye lay down with her head in Jet's lap. "Things are moving too fast."

"Well, whose fault is that?"

Faye glared at him.

Jet sighed and glanced at the ceiling. "We'll share blame, okay?"

Faye sat up. "Okay, but you know, you can't just tell a woman to marry you. You have to ask her."

"Aw, Faye, I don't have any jewelry!"

Faye slid off the ring he had paid for in Vegas-on-Venus. "Here. Use this. You bought it."

Jet looked at the ring and opened his mouth as if to say something.

"On your knees!" Ed shouted. "You're supposed to beg!"

"Edward, Jet shouldn't get on his knees. He just recently got over a leg injury."

"Thank you," Jet said.

Faye looked at him expectantly.

Ed looked at him expectantly. Hell, even the dogs were looking at him, big grins on their faces.

"I, er.." Jet blushed.

"This from the man who lost an arm and tackles the most ferocious criminals in the galaxy," Faye remarked aside to Edward.

Ed slapped her thighs. "Ha ha! Jet is chicken!"

"I am not!" Jet insisted. "I was the one who brought up the subject of marriage in the first place!"

Faye remained firm, her arms folded. "Ask me. Ask me and I'll say something in return."

"Faye.."

"Uh huh?"

"Marry me.."

"Marry me…" Faye prodded.

Jet gritted his teeth. "Please?"

Faye threw her arms around his neck. "Okay!"

Jet was surprised it was this easy. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because, Jet, I need someone and you're the only one who has gone the distance for me. All the others—from Whitney to Spike, failed me. Now put that ring back on my finger, damn it!"

He slid the ring on, and they kissed.

"Um, so…" Ed began.

They continued to kiss.

"Edward is still in the room, you know," Ed tried. "Um, well…Edward is going to Ed's cabin. C'mon, doggies." SJ and Ein got to their feet. "Is it hot in here, or is it just Edward?"

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"I need to know one thing before I agree to marry you," Jet began, his arm around Faye in bed.

Faye turned to look at him. "I thought we agreed on marriage."

"There's this little hang-up I have…"

She sat up. "Oh, I knew it! You're afraid of commitment. Men are—"

"Not me—_you_! I need to know you're not gonna run away again. Like you always do."

Faye sighed, but she knew it was a valid concern. She had been so capricious. And her deeper understanding of the man who had become her lover gave her the knowledge that beneath his snapping at her lay fear. Fear that she was going to leave him, just like Alisa before her.

"What if I just want to take a spin? Not really leave?"

"If you're going out, write a message; call me. It only takes a minute. Then I won't worry about you."

"If I did run away, would you come after me?" she tested.

It was his turn to sigh. "I did on Callisto," he muttered. He wanted to say no, she realized, but he didn't have the heart for it. "But if you really do want to leave me for good, tell me to my face. Don't leave me a note. And tell me why."

She tried another issue. "What if my creditors come after me? What if I need to disappear?"

"Then we disappear _together_."

Faye smiled impishly. "Sounds like fun."

"But I want you to agree to never run away again."

"I'll try," she said.

He stared at her.

"I'll do my best," she promised, smiling in a placating manner.

He looked at her doubtfully.

She grabbed his metal arm. "I know I've been fickle in the past, but..I'm changing. The younger me wasn't like that so much. I know I can never unlearn all my bad habits, but I want to be like her again. Someone good."

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In her cabin, Faye called Maybelle on the video phone. "You were right about me and Jet," she said simply.

"Really?"

"We're lovers now."

"Oh, congratulations."

Faye sighed. "Thanks, but you're not gonna approve of the next part. I'm pregnant."

Maybelle blinked.

"We want to come back to Vegas and get hitched," Faye continued.

"Well, that's good," Maybelle said.

"Are you mad at me?" Faye asked Maybelle. "I know jumping the gun is against your religion."

"It is," Maybelle began. "But to be someone's mother is to love them unconditionally. It's true, I didn't expect for you to get together so fast, and this isn't what I had in mind." She chuckled. "But it doesn't matter."

"Doesn't matter?" Faye wondered. "But I thought it was a cardinal sin in your religion."

"It is, but..none of us is perfect, you know. I have no right to turn a cold shoulder on you now. Do you know I started out in this town as a showgirl?"

"Really?" Faye cocked her head. "That's not so bad."

"It was in a revue at the Côte d'Azur, called 'Reckless Girls'." We had glamorous costumes, but they didn't cover our nipples."

Faye looked incredulous. "You were a topless dancer?"

"Yes. You know that statue outside the Côte d'Azur?"

"The one with all the tight-assed women?"

"Well, the third one down is me."

"Really?"

"'Course, that was way back in the day. No one would want to make a statue of my butt nowadays—not even Don."

"What was Don? A drug dealer?"

"No, Don was a construction worker. He helped put up the Roman Empire resort. But he was a regular at our shows. I'd like to say I gave up topless dancing and all that rot because I found Christ. But actually, I didn't keep my showgirl figure." She leaned in closer to the screen in a confidential manner. "Too many trips to those all-you-can-eat buffets."

"Yeah, I could get carried away with those myself."

"So you see, dear, none of us is perfect. Probably more people than not in our congregation have pasts they're not proud of. I'm just glad you and Jet are trying to rectify the situation."

"You know, actually I'm glad I'm having Jet's baby and not Spike's. Spike would've been a deadbeat dad anyway; he didn't even like kids. But Jet's gonna make a good father. You think we stand a chance? I mean, this marriage lasting?"

"Are you nervous?"

"Kinda numb, actually."

"Are you sure you want to get married right now?" Maybelle tried to ascertain.

"Yeah, what the heck, if it doesn't work out, we can easily divorce in New Reno down the street from here."

"Now that's not the attitude to take!" Maybelle scolded, feigning shock.

"We'll give it a go, that's all I can say. Besides, he's very well built, if you know what I mean. I don't think I'm getting such a bad deal here."

"Your priorities are so—" Maybelle began, than waved her words aside. "Aahh! But can I ask you just one last thing?"

"Shoot."

"Do you love him?"

Faye smiled slightly. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Oh, I knew you did the first time I saw you two in the jewelry shop."

Faye smirked. "Then why'd you ask me if you already knew?"

"Just making sure, dear. Just making sure. And to answer your earlier question, I think you have a chance. Couples who are friends first always have a chance."

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Not many days later…

A small crowd had gathered by the merlion fountain in front of the Singapore—Maybelle, Don, Edward/Françoise, and also Faye and Jet, in their formal clothes.

Maybelle was looking at a booklet. "There's a two for one special at the Gateway Chapel."

"Two for one?" Don demanded. "How can you have a two for one special on a wedding?"

"Maybe you and I could renew our vows."

"But we renewed them two years ago!"

"Well, who put a limit on the number of times you could renew your vows?"

Jet cut in. "We don't need anything fancy. Look, all I'm asking is that there be no Elvis and no Klingons."

"Ooh!" cried Edward. "An alien wedding!" She made as if to run off, but Jet put a restraining hand on her shoulders.

"Where are you going?"

"To the casino."

"What did I tell you?"

"But Edward has a system to win big money, pay for wedding!"

"Edward, you're too young to be in a casino. They won't allow it."

"Ha! Edward knows no age! Edward is timeless and eternal!"

"And also full of delusions of grandeur!" Faye snapped testily.

"Faye-Faye is cranky! Methinks she has cold feet."

"Oh, I do not! I'm just a little nervous, that's all."

"Cold feet! Cold feet!" Edward dived down to Faye's shoes and began blowing hot air on them, and rubbing them with her hands. "Edward will warm your feet for you."

Faye decided to ignore Edward as best as she could, and she turned to Jet, going from cranky to sheepish. "You're not mad about this? Me being pregnant and having to get married?"

Jet shrugged. "What good would that do? It's half my fault anyhow."

"A man willing to sacrifice his pride and take the blame!" Don exclaimed, then chuckled. "You'll get along just fine."

Faye glided her fingers through the water in the fountain. "I know! Let's bring a preacher out here and have the wedding right by the fountain."

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In the end, they had it there, and Edward got soaked playing in the "waterfall". Then Ed and the dogs were shipped off to the Valentines' house for the night, and Maybelle heard a decidedly different view about adventures on the _Bebop_, and counseled and consoled the young girl when she went into her sad Françoise role. Meanwhile, Jet and Faye had lots of fun exploring each other in their hotel room that came complete with spa and a waterfall shower.

Things were going well, Faye thought. In all the hectic happenings lately, she had had less time to weep over Spike. She had found a good man, right under her nose, and she had found two families—a parental one with Maybelle and Don, and a nuclear one with Jet and the baby—and even with Edward as a sort of unofficial adoptee.

Fate wasn't always cruel.


End file.
